What does fire mean to you?

The cuisine of Nuevo León has been built around fire. It has that unique ability to bring people together, and it plays a central role in many celebrations—here we’re always looking for an excuse to light the fire. In my case, my relationship with gastronomy was born from it: fire gives food a distinctive character and ultimately defines the flavour of everything I cook.

How would you describe your proposal at Vernáculo?

It is 100% northeastern Mexican cuisine seen through my own lens, blending inspiration from around the world with elements of our Spanish and Sephardic Jewish culinary heritage. We reinterpret traditional recipes by transforming their ingredients and techniques to create preparations that feel personal and distinctive, always with deep respect for their origins. It is, in essence, an exploration of a new northeastern cuisine that looks firmly to the future.

What influences from regional cuisine are present in the project?

Everything—from the architectural materials to the traditional utensils of our regional cooking, such as the zarzo, where products were once air-cured, along with hooks, drying lines for meat, wood-burning fireplaces and the adobe oven where many of our dishes are cooked.

What aspects of your life and travels have shaped the concept?

I’ve always been a bit disruptive in the kitchen. I’m not interested in following recipes to the letter; I prefer to use them as a starting point to create something of my own. Vernáculo is my space to experiment with this cuisine—it’s a project that says a lot about who I am. I travel to eat and to find inspiration, from my own state and country to destinations abroad. I enjoy discovering other cultures through their gastronomy, and that inevitably influences what we do here and keeps me constantly creating.

Of all the dishes on the menu, which one do you feel best captures the essence of the restaurant?

The fideo tatemado with chorizo and egg yolk is a real gem. It’s an elevated cantina dish—somewhat like a creamy pasta—but served in tacos with ribeteadas tortillas. It perfectly reflects what Vernáculo is about: respecting the ingredients and traditions of the region while presenting them in a fresh, contemporary way.

Working with local producers has always been a non-negotiable commitment for you. How does this approach enrich Vernáculo?

Limiting ourselves in terms of ingredients can be challenging, but at the same time I believe it’s precisely what makes the concept feel honest and allows it to be truly “vernacular.”

Through which ingredients and products would you tell the story of northeastern cuisine?  

Ingredients such as mesquite and ebony speak of the territory through their wood, traditionally used as fuel for the fires on which much of the region’s cooking is done. Native herbs such as wild oregano and the local bay laurel of Nuevo León are also essential, as is chile piquín, one of the most distinctive flavours of the region. Many edible plants come from the desert landscape itself: nopales, the buds of the biznaga cactus known as cabuches, and yucca, from which we obtain palm blossom. As for protein, meats were traditionally preserved through salting and drying, with venison, wild boar and even horse forming part of the loca diet.

With colonisation came spices that are now staples of everyday cooking, such as black pepper and cumin, along with wheat, which gave rise to our classic flour tortillas, and both cattle and small livestock. Goat, beef and pork now underpin many of the region’s most emblematic dishes—from cabrito, the slow-roasted young goat that has become a symbol of Monterrey, to asado de puerco, a chilli-rich pork stew, and cortadillo, a northern-style beef stew. 

What kind of gastronomic moment is Monterrey experiencing right now?

Ten years ago hardly anyone was talking about the cuisine from here, and Monterrey has achieved a great deal in that time—from the opening of new dining concepts to, above all, bringing northeastern Mexican cuisine into the national spotlight. I believe this is only the beginning of something much bigger, and that the city has the potential to establish itself as one of the country’s leading gastronomic destinations.

What kind of gastronomic moment is Monterrey experiencing right now?

While it still has some way to go before gaining broader international recognition, I believe it’s on the right track and will have plenty to say in the coming years as part of the wider story of Mexican cuisine.